Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I welcome this opportunity to address the vital role education plays in the Government's overseas aid programme. We in Ireland know the central role education plays in unlocking potential and enabling economic and social development. We have brought these lessons to bear on our approach to working with developing countries to empower them to drive their own development.

According to the latest figures from UNESCO more 61 million children of school going age remain out of school today. On top of this grim statistic, approximately 200 million children in school are not able to read a simple sentence because the quality of education they receive is of such poor quality. Nevertheless, real progress has been achieved in recent years. Many countries have made significant progress towards achieving universal primary education during the past decade. From 1999 to 2008 an additional 52 million children enrolled in primary schools.

Education is central to the Irish Aid programme because it helps eradicate poverty and hunger and builds the knowledge and skills people require to build better lives. The 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid recognised education as a fundamental human right. Building on this, Irish Aid's education policy has a strong focus on building sustainable education systems to deliver good quality education. Through Irish Aid, we have provided a total of €48.7 million on education programmes in developing countries in 2010.

Our education policy is implemented through a number of different channels. At global level Ireland is a significant contributor to the Global Partnership for Education, GPE, and we will provide approximately €4 million this year. The GPE supports the implementation of education plans in more than 45 countries, many of them emerging from conflicts or natural disasters and in great need of assistance. Another key part of the work of the GPE is getting more girls into school.

We also work directly with education sectors in four of our nine priority countries. Working with partner governments to build the infrastructure, skills and systems is a key priority. For example in 2010, some €26 million was provided to Uganda, Mozambique, Lesotho and Zambia. In these countries good partnerships have been developed between the education sectors and Irish Aid country teams. They are working to ensure the quality of education continues to improve and greater equity in access to education services is achieved. In addition to working with governments, Irish Aid provides assistance to civil society partners such as Concern and Plan Ireland for education projects in fragile states and for improving access to education for disabled children.

As the House is aware, we are reviewing the White Paper on Irish Aid and have been consulting widely. One of the key messages from the public consultation is that there is strong public support for our focus on education, and a view that it reflects our values and our experiences as a people. I am committed to ensuring that education will continue to be a priority area for the Government's aid programme in the years ahead.

See this speech in context